Make sure houseplants are free of disease and pests before bringing them indoors. (Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery)
The weather is finally starting to cool off and you may be thinking of bringing your indoor plants indoors for the winter. It’s a great way to keep enjoying it, but there are some steps you need to follow to ensure success.
Most indoor plants are tropical in nature, so they won’t survive our cold temperatures and harsh winter conditions if left outdoors. Move them indoors near a window with bright light, on a porch, or anywhere else they will have adequate light. Adding grow lights or a good cleaning of your windows can help if your home has very dim lighting.
Decide if you want to keep it in the same pot or if you want to repot it for the winter. If you’re not going to be repotting your plants, scraping the top inch or two of soil from the top of the pot and replacing it with fresh soil will go a long way in eliminating any insect eggs that may have been laid there while it was growing. was outside.
Ensuring they are disease and pest free before bringing them in also ensures that you won’t have an infestation and that your other houseplants will stay healthy. Once inside, inspect your plant for any lingering pests that may have hitched a ride. Sometimes they are not as visible when outdoors, but once indoors in a pleasant, warm environment, the eggs hatch and populations explode.
Start acclimatizing once nighttime temperatures begin to dip into the upper 50s or 40s by bringing them indoors in the evening but back outdoors each morning. This allows your plant to gradually adjust to changes in sunlight intensity, humidity, etc. Gradually increase the time indoors over a period of several weeks until you have him indoors full time. You may experience leaf drop, but this is normal as your plant adapts to its changing conditions.
Once they are full time residents indoors, go light on the water as they won’t need as much water as when they were outdoors since light levels will be less and they will no longer be exposed to our windy conditions. However, they may still require regular watering if you are using a wood stove as a heating source with no other moisture supplied. The best gardening tool you have is your finger – stick it in the ground to test for moisture. Remember that plants are like people, not like wet feet in winter!
As general care, remove dead or dried leaves or flowers to keep plants clean and tidy. You will want to continue fertilizing through the winter, but use a one-third or one-half strength solution and only apply it once a month. Since they’re basically in a semi-dormant state, they won’t need much.
Taking the time to acclimatize and move your houseplants for the winter is well worth it. There’s nothing that reminds me that spring will return so much as a houseplant in bright, cheerful blooms on the windowsill or on my desk in the middle of winter.
Gail Vanik can be reached at 970-565-8274 or by email at fourseasons@animas.net.
